Critics of Religion Midterm
2. Although Friedrich Nietzsche’s ideas and work have long been associated with atheism and even the antisemitism that would eventually lead to the Holocaust, I think a slightly more fitting description of his point of view in The Genealogy of Morals might be “anticlerical”. While I believe there are good arguments that can be made for both atheism and anticlericalism, Nietzsche seems to focus most of his energy on critiquing religious clergy such as priests as well as organized religion and its impact on morality, rather than critiquing belief in God. The first essay includes an etymology of the words “good” and “bad” and how they underwent a transvaluation at some point due to religious clergy, which ultimately lead to a morality system that he argues is not natural or innate within us. The second essay deals with guilt and
…show more content…
Although some passages in the second essay may point to atheism, I believe that, overall, his critique of religion seems to primarily stem from his animosity towards the way in which religious belief has manifested itself in society, rather than belief in God or religious belief as a whole.
In the first essay, Nietzsche discusses the etymology of the words “good” and “bad” and how they have evolved over time to have completely different meanings, meanings that he does not agree with, due to the priestly class. Prior to this transvaluation, good meant noble and powerful while bad meant poor or common (Nietzsche, 28). The “good” were able to exercise their will to power and
Good vs Evil in Beowulf Evil profoundly immoral and malevolent Good to be desired or approved of. Although the two adjectives are the polar opposites from each other complete In the Anglo Saxon poem Beowulf, the reoccurring theme of good versus evil is used to contrast the ideal Anglo Saxon person with its flawed opposite. Anglo Saxon literature was typically written in Latin, which is known as “the language of learning” (Amodio).
Secondly the essay will discuss any change in moral code and physical appearance
Edmund Burke once said, “Nothing is so fatal to religion as indifference”. In the memoir, Night, by Elie Wiesel, Elie struggles to comprehend why God is letting such horrible things happen during the Holocaust, which in turn lessens his faith in God. He believes that no one, even God, should turn away, or show indifference to such a horrible situation. In this memoir, it is evident that Elie’s faith in God has changed.
These two quotes from Elie Wiesel and Ruth Kluger, two holocaust survivors represent two opposing responses to the trauma of the holocaust. Both novels demonstrate the different religious struggles of two people of different backgrounds experiencing similar situations. Wiesel, a devout Jew, eventually rejects his faith altogether whereas Kluger, raised as a non-orthodox Jew, finds refuge in religion in the concentration camp. This essay will explore how Kluger and Wiesel’s perception of religion changes over the course of their experience in the holocaust.
“The feeling of guilt is your conscience calling your attention to the higher road, and your heart wishing you had taken it.” The poem “I Can Stand Him no Longer” by Raphael Dumas and “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe are pieces of literature that develop the thematic topic of guilt using literary devices such as metaphors, connotations, similes and etc. Both stories are about a person who commits a deed that he is later guilty of doing. In “The Tell-Tale Heart”, a man commits a murder of an old neighbor and tries to hide the crime. However, he later finds himself guilty of doing so and accepts his crime in front of the police.
In Phil Baker’s article, “Guilt and Shame”, Baker reports that when one feels shame or guilt the way they act towards others and perceive themselves is tremendously affected in a negative way. He claims that guilt in not healthy because it harms your relationships with yourself and others. He supports this claim by explaining how guilt is connected with moral and immoral decisions so, when one breaks this bond guilt is used as a tool to try to fix the horrible actions, which is one way our bodies will be affected with guilt (3). Next, Baker determines that by diverting blame or, blaming problems on others is an effect of guilt and will only harm the ones you blame (5). Lastly, another way guilt abuses one’s relationship with others is when
Like Freud, Marx strongly believed that religion was created as a form of security. Nietzsche viewed religion as something humans resort to in times of desperation. They turn to religion when they are seeking meaning in their own life. Nietzsche believed that religion made
The use of God as a shield works on believers, but not on nonbelievers. The question “why bad things happening to good people” still cannot be answered for the nonbelievers, a common critique of religion itself. Regardless of the problem of theodicy, however, religion has worked really well to create and maintain the reality. Berger explains that it is because religion legitimates effectively. “Religion has been the historically most widespread and effective instrumentality of legitimation….
Many of the characters experience guilt in one way or another throughout the film and the guilt presented stems from multiple characters and situations to others along the way. For instance, consider Edmunds guilt for poisoning his father. After the event and turning to his old school teacher, Henning, who castigates the child in fear of being in fault, Edmund wanders the ruined streets of Berlin and Rossellini paints a vivid picture of his guilt; Edmunds face is dirty and shadowed by his untamed hair and the score supplements this with a mellow and solemn base and occasional violin strings that exemplify the uncertainty of the situation. With the power of this scene, one can assume and feel Edmunds guilt for poisoning his father and as he makes his way up a destroyed building, the viewer can deduce that his suicide is imminent. This explains an evident human toll of guilt and a question of where the fault lies in guilt--was it Henning who suggested the death of Edmunds father or was it Edmund’s father himself who hinted at the idea of
Through these perspectives, Whitmarsh emphasizes the significance of atheism in classical history, with a clear intention of opposing the frequent neglect atheists and atheist history receive from influential historians and educators. To this end, Whitmarsh aims to disprove the misconception that religion is inherently natural in humans, thus recognizing and acknowledging atheist history as equally significant to religious history. Such a platform is consistent
On the other hand, theists like Swinburne, believe that evil is necessary for important reasons such as that it helps us grow and improve. In this paper I will argue that the theist is right, because the good of the evil in this specific case on problems beyond one’s control, outweighs the bad that comes from it. I will begin by stating the objection the anti-theodicist gives for why it is wrong that there is a problem of evil. (<--fix) Regarding passive evil not caused by human action, the anti-theodicist claims that there is an issue with a creator, God, allowing a world to exist where evil things happen, which are not caused by human beings (180-181).
The presentation of Good vs. Evil is one of the main themes in the novel, Dracula. The portrayal of good and evil is seen in each character throughout the book. The characters considered “evil” in the novel are Dracula and his vampire brides. Dracula converts humans into vampires and has immense power over certain individuals. Everything he does demonstrates that there is no good in him at all.
Without religion we have no morality, without morality we are beings of evil. “The Evil Empire” speech by Ronald Reagan, is verbal dissent of the Soviet Union and his supports for abolishment of abortion. Reagan’s speech was held in 1983 at the Convention of the National Association of Evangelicals, seemingly a tactical decision to have a crowd susceptible to a religious appeal. Using word choice and repetition, Reagan rallies the public’s support with arguments of morality using religion, a pathos and ethos appeal. Reagan begins his speech with a religious joke, though seemingly just an ice breaker, this is how Reagan beings his pathos and ethos appeal.
Introduction The problem of evil has been a major concern in the human race with various attempts being made to reconcile the belief in God with the existence of evil in this world. The Christian conception of God as supremely good and powerful has made the problem of evil to be very difficult simply because such a being will make the world a better place than it is by preventing evil from causing pain and suffering to humanity. Both Christianity and Judaism face a great challenge to solve the issue of evil and its existence because of the impact of evil that the holocaust caused on millions of people. Scholars have devoted their time to account for the horrifying events that took place during the holocaust by examining different theodicy
The Co-existence Of Good and Evil In Human Morality: To Kill A Mockingbird Analysis Essay Set in the rural southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, To Kill A Mockingbird is seen through the eyes of Scout Finch and her older brother Jem, Maycomb appears to be friendly and peaceful. However the children are exposed to the dangers and the truth of their community. As they mature and learn important lessons from others, they’re exposed to prejudice, inequality, racism, social class and injustice.